I was so tired of getting the same results in my life.
There is a quote from Narcotics Anonymous that is so good it has been misattributed to Einstein (I have always quoted it as Einstein’s quote until this morning when I looked it up).
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”
The internet is amazing to me because it’s so full of information, and it has put all of that information at our fingertips. We can connect with people who have found success in the areas we are lacking and learn from them. It used to be so hard to get information… remember all of those encyclopedias?
I have been researching and following people who were getting different results than I was trying to soak in their frame work.
I have been picking up pieces and here and there, and I’m learning why and how critically important trust, generosity, vulnerability, transparency, truth, persistence, discipline, courage, connection, compassion, kindness, patience, diligence and many other virtues really are.
I made a promise to myself to be as consistent as I can be, and not allow myself excuses or justification to not uphold the virtues.
This has caused me to uphold a high standard for myself… I am good with that. It feels good to act consistently in line with those virtues, and the results I’m getting in life are changing accordingly… hooray!
It’s been a challenge to maintain my standards and not project those as expectations onto other people. I have had a few epic fails in that department, and with those fails, a few of the virtues also fall off the wagon such as compassion, but here is what I’m slowly learning… if I hold true to mine 9 times out of 10 the other people eventually follow suit, and that’s more likely to happen when I have no expectations of them.
The morale to this story is, we can only do what we can do for ourselves. Within that we shine the light for others, and they can choose to step into the light, or not to step into if they choose. If one person chooses not to step into that light, it’s ok, they have their own journey.